It is 3.30 am in the morning. It is even too early for the birds to sing their early morning songs. We are awakened by the screaming alarm on our cellphones in the middle of the bush. We get into the car and drive toward the Phalaborwa Gate at the Kruger National Park. The drive is not that long, but we want to be at the gates just when the sun rises on the horizon. The South African bushveld mornings are spectacular. None so spectacular as those in the bushveld with wild game walking around you.
At the gate just before entering, we grab our first coffees. It is still early and the sun is almost pregnant on the horizon. While waiting for the coffee, we scour the gift shop. I found two interesting "snacks", if you can call them that, you will only find in (South) Africa: Mopane worms (this area is known for their Mopane trees, and Marula nuts (the nuts of the Marula fruit). Both are excellent nutritional sources, but I could only stomach the idea of the nuts. I could not deal with the idea of worms that early in the morning. So please join me on this beautiful journey into the bushveld of South Africa!
(Warning: This post contains some graphic photographs that might not be suitable for all viewers; it contains two images of dead animals; life and death are part of the wild.)
| Dried Mopane Worms | Marula Nuts |
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Life in the Kruger: Elephants Galore
The Phalaborwa gate is known for its abundance of elephants. I am not sure of the reasons, but I can only imagine the reason being the ample beautiful trees with luscious leaves. It was a good rainy season and the trees grew thick; you could almost not spot the animals!
But around every corner, we saw elephants. And this is not always a good thing. From a photography perspective, this is ideal because the 300mm lens can only zoom in so much. But from a safety perspective, it is not so great. These animals are (i) wild, and (ii) massive. You only understand the size of these creatures when it towers above your car. And we were in a big car. The problem is not the lonely elephant in search of some juicy leaves, the problem is when you stand between the mother/father and the child...
We stopped the car quickly because we saw the elephant right next to us, but then we saw the baby. We put the car in first gear and quickly drove away; just far enough to be safe. From there, we could observe relative safety. One should always realise that these creatures are wild, they are not always used to cars and these strange monkeys in them.
Their ways and movements are elegant and slow. One cannot think that they can be so aggressive. But it just shows again how one should respect them, like the ocean in its vastness.
Another group of big animals, also in abundance, is the giraffes. We saw so many of them, and I guess it is also due to the abundance of green luscious leaves. These animals are also slow and graceful in their movements. One walked over the road just behind us and again the scale and size of these animals are only appreciated from up close. In the car, which is really vulnerable, you can see just how big and magnificent they are.
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Through the thicket, you can almost not see the giraffes.
We were also in for a treat as we saw some of the more shy animals. In fact, this animal is rarely seen, according to my understanding, as they are nocturnal feeders. They stay in the water during the day and only get out to feed in the night. That is why they are so dangerous because if you get in their way returning to the water, they will charge you. These animals also kill so many humans, it is shocking to even think about it. One would suspect this from a lion, but no, I am talking about the hippo!
As you can see, these three majestic beasts took a much-needed nap! If you look closely at the left one, you can see the marks on it, which are probably remnants of old fights. These creatures are violent. If you look below, you can see its wide open jaw, you would not want to be the victim!
In the background, you can just see how many elephants there are! It is great to see how many babies there are. I just hope that these numbers keep on growing and that they are not dwindling.
Just before we decided to drive, the baby sat up straight! I tried my best to zoom in with my 300mm lens, but I caught the little one sitting upright after a nap.
We call them donkeys with pyjamas. But they are obviously Zebras. They are also beautiful animals and we do not always see them. They hid behind some trees.
Strange enough, we only spotted these couple of wildebeest. They also hid begin the thicket; normally they are quite easily spotted in their multitude. Maybe we looked too hard for lions so we missed them! But luckily we saw some of these.
Another very shy animal that we saw was these Warthogs. They are very shy and run so quickly. All you see is their cute little tails sticking in the air as they run for one of their holes/dens in the ground.
And lastly, we saw a couple of crocodiles. We were lucky to spot them as they also blend in so well with the background. Again, we were lucky that they were out of the water!
In the background, you can see all of the pretty white flours of the arum lilies!
Death in the Kruger
(Warning: The next two photographs will show dead animals.)
We did not see one buffalo. But we saw ... a dead one. Unfortunately, death is a part of life in the Kruger. It is violent out there. But it is very rare to see these dead animals because every part of it is a meal for other animals. The wild cats eat the meat, and the vultures and hyenas eat the bones. Nothing goes to waste.
If you think about it, these animals die out in the open. No one is there to dispose of the body. But in the 10 or so times that I have been to the Kruger, this is the first time I have actually seen bones of animals. Just a couple of kilometres on, we also saw what looks like an elephant skull.
But enough of death...
The Lookout Points
Various lookout points offer amazing views. These lookout points also offer fantastic food options for those who are very hungry! You can also stay there for the night, as they have various chalets. But we were only day visitors and only enjoyed the views for a while. See the video I took below:
There are also some spectacular pieces of "art" or statues. These were some of the best, because elephants!
Postscriptum, or So the Journey Ends
If you have been to the Kruger, you know two things very well.
The first thing, people will stop for anything even if there is nothing. We always randomly stop for nothing, point the cameras, and watch the people behind us stop to watch for whatever we point at. This is kind of a cruel joke, but it is harmless fun! The joke is on us if we pointed for "nothing" and drive on and there was something after all...
The second thing, you are against the clock. The gates close at a certain time for day visitors and if you miss that time you will be heavily fined. So you cannot get lost in the various roads that sometimes carry on forever deeper into the bush. At a certain point in the journey, you have to say okay, now we head towards the gates. Otherwise, you will be in for a surprise.
Sadly, the adventure ended with us not seeing any big cats neither buffalos nor hyenas. But we saw a lot of animals, so we were happy. And we got some marula nuts!
In any case, I hope you enjoyed this virtual journey with me into the African bushveld with its many wild game. If you come to South Africa, please do visit the Kruger (but be safe!). It is surely worth it. But remember you are in Africa: wild animals and crime are things.
For now, safe travels and be well!
All of the photographs (and video) are my own, taken with my iPhone or Nikon D300 with the 300mm Tamron lens. The writings and musings are also my own unless I hyperlinked or stated otherwise.